From The Brink
by AeroQC
Summary: Judy is called upon for an important meeting, and is given a proposition that might be too good to pass up. A Halloween Special.
1. Warm Greeting

**Part 1 – Warm Greeting**

Judy felt light, lighter than even a feather. She felt like she was floating through a dream, with no rhyme or reason to her destination. A tap on her shoulder brought her to her senses and she turned around to see who it was. A crimson-furred bat stood in front of her, dressed in a somewhat dapper suit.  
"Sorry to interrupt you, Ms. Hopps," the bat apologized. "But my boss would like to have a word with you."  
Judy felt wary about the sudden meeting, but her curiosity got the better of her. She nodded in agreement.  
"If you would follow me, then."

The bat led her to a door she hadn't noticed beforehand. He opened it for her and beckoned the bunny inside.  
"Please, take a seat, our host should be here shortly."  
The bat waited by the door as Judy walked into the modestly decorated office. Bookshelves lined every wall and a large roaring fireplace sat behind the finely crafted desk; a lone chair just her size waited for her in the middle. While she waited in her seat, Judy couldn't help but have her gaze wander amongst the many shelves. She recognized a few names that dotted the books, but many more were in languages she didn't recognize. After a few moments of aimless gazing, her eyes rested upon the flames that called the fireplace home. As they flickered and danced among the logs, she thought she saw a set of eyes staring back at her among the embers.  
No sooner had she dismissed it did the fire stir more violently, the flames roared and grew in strength before leaping from the fireplace. They swirled in place behind the desk for a moment and then died down, leaving in its place a sleek red vixen dressed in a ruby dress. The new arrival looked at Judy with piercing blue eyes and gave her a sinister grin.  
"Might I say, what a fine entrance, my Lady," the bat commented from his post.  
The vixen smiled as she rounded her desk.  
"Thank you, Sam," she replied in a smooth voice. "You can leave us now; I'll call you back when you're needed."  
"As you wish," Sam confirmed with a bow. "And if I would be so bold as to say that you look rather devilish in that dress."  
The vixen gave him a nod as he exited the office.

"That guy is such a kiss-ass," the vixen said as she leaned against her desk. "Thinks that he'll be able to run this place someday, but let me tell you: not in a million years."  
She giggled at her own comment. Judy, to her own credit, felt a little lost in what was going on.  
"I'm sorry to ask Miss, but-"  
"Oh! Right! I should introduce myself," the crimson host declared before clearing her throat. "I am the manifestation of your greatest fear. I go by many names, some you may know, some you may not. But given the current situation, you may call me… Lucy."  
"That's nice, Lucy, but actually-"  
"You're wondering where you are," Lucy completed for her with a coy grin. "Don't worry, we'll get to that."  
The vixen sauntered over to where Judy sat and rested her paws on the arms of the chair, trapping the bunny in place.  
"Now Judy, do you know why I'm your greatest fear?" The vixen asked.  
Judy wasn't sure what to answer. She eyed the vixen from head to tail, trying to find what was so terrifying about her, but only concluded that she looked beautiful. Her coat shone in the light, her tail was nice and full, and the dress she wore accentuated her slender appeal. If anything, she would be the perfect mate for Nick.

The realization struck her like a knife to the heart; before her stood the one thing she feared the most, a vixen that could steal her partner. She shivered at the thought of her meeting him, taking him with her. Lucy only smiled at the bunny's reaction.  
"Lucky for you, I have no interest in your fox," she declared as she backed away and made for her desk.  
"So did you bring me here for something, or did you just want to torment me?" Judy scowled.  
"As fun as that might be, I did ask for you," the vixen replied from behind her desk. "Because you just might be able to help me, and I, you."  
"What could you possibly help me with?" The bunny asked in confusion.  
"You really don't know?"  
Judy didn't know how to respond.  
"You wanted to know where you were earlier, correct?" Lucy asked as she propped her head over her paws. "Well let me shed a little light on the subject. I hope this doesn't as too much of a shock, but… Welcome to Hell."  
"I'm sorry, what?"  
"To put things simply: Judy Hopps, you're dead."

* * *

 **AN: Alright... *Pulls up a checklist and crosses out 'Killed Judy'*  
**


	2. Coming to Terms

**Part 2 – Coming to Terms**

Judy couldn't believe what she was hearing. Her? Dead? That was impossible; she was sitting in an office talking to this vixen. And yet something in the back of her mind suggested that it was the truth.  
"Having trouble wrapping your little head around it?" Lucy asked as she got up from her desk.  
"N-no, I… Y-yes… M-maybe?" Judy stammered as she tried to construct some explanation for what was happening.  
"Aww, seems like the little bunny needs a little reminder," the vixen teased as she brought herself to Judy's level.  
With a snap of her fingers, the chair whirled around and Judy found herself looking at a large flat-screen monitor. Lucy came around and sat herself down next to Judy in what was now a soft couch.  
"Popcorn?" She offered to the bunny as she conjured a bowl from nowhere.  
"Uh, no thanks," Judy politely declined.  
The vixen shrugged and pointed at the screen, where the image of a badger in a nighttime alleyway sprung to life.

…

The badger was running down the alley, duffel bag in tow, his breath crisping in the cool air. He kept looking behind him to see if he was still being followed. True to form, the two cops were still tailing him. One a bunny and the other, a fox.  
"This is your last chance, Baggins! Stop this instant and we might be gentle!" The bunny shouted as she gained more ground on him, leaving her partner in the dust.  
The badger growled and turned a corner, with Judy close behind. As she rounded the corner the bunny skidded to a halt, now facing a raised shotgun. A bang roared through the alley and Judy was kicked to the ground from the impact. She was winded and had a few broken ribs, but she otherwise believed herself to be relatively okay.  
"Oh look, little Cottontail is still breathing," the armed badger mocked as he placed himself over the downed cop. "But not for long."  
As he readied for his next shot, Judy silently begged for her partner to save her, just as he always did. He wasn't that far behind, was he?  
"Nighty-night."  
The shotgun fired and the slug dug through her vest, already stressed by the previous shot. Judy's eyes went wide as it pierced through her, the hot slug finally resting as it hit the back panel of her body armour.

As the badger made his escape, Nick made his appearance to the unfortunate scene. Hyperventilating in a growing pool of blood was Judy, struggling to stay alive.  
"JUDY!" The fox shouted as he rushed to her side. "Judy, stay with me! You hear?! Stay with me!"  
He applied pressure to her open wound, but all it did was cause her blood to gush over his paws.  
"Nick! N-nick, stop!" The bunny cried out, gathering all of her remaining strengrh. "He's getting away... Don't let him get away."  
Tears flooded the foxes eyes as she said this.  
"No! I won't leave you like this," he sobbed. "You're all I have..."  
Judy reached up with a shaking paw and wiped his cheek dry. Nick held onto it, wanting to keep her there.  
"Please... Nick... For me..." She begged, her breath escaping her. "I'll be... Right... Behind you..."  
He stared deep into her purple eyes now gushing with their own tears, and saw how much it meant to her. Reluctantly, Nick stood up, nodded in understanding, and barrelled after the badger as fast as he could.

Judy stared at the empty sky above her; her few breaths causing clouds to rise up in the cold night air. She had to fight it, she desperately wanted to, but the touch of death was creeping up on her. Judy started to taste the foul touch of blood in her mouth and coughed.  
Her breathing quickened, but her heart struggled to keep up; darkness started to pool at the edge of her vision.  
She regretted sending Nick away, she was alone and scared; tears mixed with the blood she waded in.  
Judy's breathing slowed, her heartbeat crawled, and blackness enveloped her. One last breath escaped her lips into the cold night air.

...

Judy held herself on the couch, shivering, willing the tears in her eyes to not show. The vixen by her side held no reservations and was mopping up tears with tissues.  
"Oh, if this was a movie, I'm sure that scene would've won an Oscar for sure," Lucy commented between sniffles.  
The bunny had no comment; she only stared at the screen in shock, looking at her now dead body in the middle of a dark alley. The moment was short, however.  
"Alright! Down to business!" The vixen exclaimed as she got up from her seat.  
With a few claps of her paws, the screen disappeared and Judy was whirled back around to face the desk, upon which Lucy was sitting.  
"No doubt you want to know why I wanted you in the first place," she said with a smile.

* * *

 **AN: Call me evil all you want, but killing Judy was fun...  
**


	3. Deal with The Devil

**Part 3 – Deal with The Devil**

Judy stared at the vixen with a sour look.  
"You made me live through my death for a second time, so you better have a good reason for needing me," she said through gritted teeth.  
The blue-eyed devil gave a lazy smile.  
"Oh trust me, I do," Lucy stated as she kicked her legs back and forth. "See, I manage the souls of the damned down here, so it's my job to keep them here where they're to be tormented for all of eternity. The thing is, it gets boring after a while. So from time to time, I have Sam bring me a poor soul so I can entertain myself."  
The vixen jumped down from her desk and started pacing in front of Judy.  
"This time, however, the soul managed to escape to your world while Sam had him in transport to my office here."  
"Why can't you just go after him?" Judy asked.  
"As much as I'd love to, I can't," Lucy admitted. "Not unless I'm summoned there, and even then, I'd be restricted to where I was summoned. It's some stupid rule that the Big Guy imposed a while back; too complicated to explain. And I can't send any of the demons either, because all they're good for is torture. Not to mention the flak I'd get from upstairs."  
Judy's host stopped in her tracks and gave a heavy sigh.  
"So my only option was to pluck a soul that hadn't passed through Judgement yet. And that soul just so happens to be you."  
"Me?" The bunny asked in disbelief.  
"Yes."  
"You want me to catch a soul that you lost," Judy repeated in brief.  
"Correct."  
"Why would I want to do your dirty work?"  
"See, that's where I help you," Lucy said as she approached the bunny. "You just recently died, so your body is still in that alley. I can get you back there, if you decide to help me."  
Judy paused at this. From what she understood, the vixen was offering to bring her back to life in exchange for helping her. There had to be something more to this though, this was The Devil she was talking to anyway.

"What's the catch?" She asked.  
"I'm sorry?" Lucy replied, caught off guard.  
"What happens after I catch your lost soul?" Judy clarified.  
"You get to keep living, until you die again, of course."  
"And what, you'll keep my soul when I die?"  
Lucy held her face in her paws and groaned very audibly.  
"What is wrong with you mortals?!" She exclaimed, frantic. "Every time I try to make a deal, it's always 'Are you gonna take my soul?'! Why would I want your soul?! I've already got enough souls to deal with; I don't need any more unless you have to be here!"  
Of all the reactions Judy was expecting, this was not one of them.  
"So you're not going to take my soul?" She dared to ask.  
"NO!" The vixen yelled, the fireplace emphasized her point with a large wall of flames.  
"Okay," Judy meekly replied. "I'll help."  
This calmed down her host and the flames returned to their regular size.  
"Thank you," she replied as she conjured up a paper with a twirl of her fingers. "You'll have to sign this contract so that we can actually get on with this."  
She offered the contract to Judy who scoured the contents rapidly.  
"So do I sign in-"  
"Pen," Lucy stated with a slight irritation in her voice as she waved one in front of her.  
"Right," Judy nervously giggled.

As Judy finished up her signature, the contract went up in smoke along with the pen in her paw.  
"Okay!" Lucy exclaimed with a clap of her paws. "Sam, you can come in now."  
"As you wish, my Lady," the bat answered as he appeared next to Judy, causing her to jump.  
"You have the collar?" The vixen asked.  
"Of course," Sam replied as he produced a small metal box from under his wing. "I assume that my Lady wishes that our guest takes this."  
"Yes Sam, we've made a deal. She catches our misplaced soul and she gets to live again," Lucy explained. "This collar is set to summon me once it's activated. Once you've placed it on its neck, just press the button. Don't worry, it'll auto-adjust."  
Judy weighed the small box in her paw. It wasn't as heavy as it looked; on one side was a transparent button. She slipped it into one of her belt pouches.  
"What now?" Judy asked.  
"Now I send you back," Lucy stated as she leaned close to the bunny. "If you need any advice or information, you have my number. Oh, and say 'Hi' to Baggins for me."  
"Wait! How will I find the soul?!"  
"You'll know," The vixen smiled as she flicked Judy's forehead.  
The bunny fell to the floor and was engulfed in darkness.

…

Judy woke up staring at the empty sky. Looking around, she recognized the alley where she was chasing the badger. As the bunny sat up, she noticed the pool of blood she was in, which she hurriedly jumped out of.  
The events flashed in her mind again; the badger, the gun, Nick. Judy ran down the alley, following the trail of her blood that Nick had left.

* * *

 **AN: Seriously though, pop-culture gives a pretty bad rap for The Devil...**


	4. Cold Blood

**Part 4 – Cold Blood**

The trail of blood didn't take long to fade, but by that time Judy had picked up on the commotion her partner was making and followed suit. As she finally caught up to the noises, the bunny found her partner issuing the arrest.

Nick had the badger pinned to the ground and was proceeding to cuff the suspect.  
"Mr. Baggins, you are under arrest for attempted robbery…And the murder of a fellow officer of the law," he stated while repressing his tears.  
Judy came up from behind him and gave him a soft hug.  
"You might want to scratch that last one, Slick," she whispered into his ear.  
"Dammit Judy, I've caught the guy, you can stop haunting me," the fox answered as his tears fell again.  
Judy let go, walked around to face him and knelt down. She reached out and held his face in her paws, making the fox look at her in the eye.  
"I'm not haunting you Nick," the bunny told him. "I'm right here with you."  
"Judy…"  
Nick pulled her in for a hug, fearing that he'd lose her again if he let go. Judy didn't mind at all, she merely savoured the moment.

"I thought I lost you…" Nick admitted into her neck.  
"But you didn't," Judy replied.  
"But how? All that blood…" Nick asked as he stared at his bloody paws and her blood-soaked uniform.  
"I don't know how, but it doesn't matter," the bunny lied as she tried to push out of their embrace. "I'm here and that's all that counts."  
"Carrots? Are you okay?" Nick asked, sensing something off about his partner. "You feel… Cold."  
"I'm fine!"  
She finally wrestled out of his arms and got off the unfortunate badger, who groaned in appreciation as the fox got off as well. Judy turned to the badger as he started to roll over and gave him a kick in the stomach.  
"The Devil says 'Hi'," she relayed to him before turning to Nick. "That doesn't go in the report and neither does what happened in the alley. Got it?"  
He sheepishly nodded and picked up the sore badger as Judy marched off in the direction of the patrol car.

…

Judy looked into the bathroom mirror of the gas station she had them stop in. As much as she hated lying, she couldn't afford the barrage of questions that she knew would be thrown her way if her predicament was found out. Reason why she had intended to wash the blood out of her uniform.  
The only thing stopping her was the shock of seeing the glaring hole in her chest. The slug that had made that hole was sitting on the edge of the sink; it had fallen to the floor when the bunny had taken off her vest. Judy was unsure how to process what she was looking at; she was standing there with what was clearly a fatal wound, but there was no blood flowing out, and from what she could see none of her organs were moving either. She was no doctor, but she had a feeling that nothing here was normal.  
Desperate, Judy pulled out her phone with the intention of calling Lucy before she realized that she had no idea what her number was, despite the crazy vixen having stated that she would know. At the bunny's hesitation, a buzz of her phone notified her of a message:  
 _Check your contacts.  
_ The bunny followed the instruction, finding a new entry: Lucy. As she opened the contact information, Judy was greeted by the image of the vixen giving her a playful wink and a peace sign. At that moment, Judy sympathized with her boss's situation whenever he had to read one of her partner's less-than-adequate reports.

Judy's phone rang for a good minute before it was answered.  
"Speak to The Devil," Lucy greeted.  
"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO ME, LUCY!?" The bunny shouted into her phone.  
"Wow, no need to get feisty, Judes," the vixen retorted. "So what's the problem?"  
"Problem? I have a hole in my chest!"  
"Yeah, and?"  
"WHY!?" Judy pleaded.  
"I thought that it would give you an incentive to finish your end of the bargain," Lucy explained. "Besides, you have a few advantages with that body. You don't have to sleep, eat or breathe and you can't feel any pain."  
"So I'm a walking corpse," Judy concluded.  
"Yup," the vixen confirmed. "And you might want to catch that soul before your fox asks you out on another date. Wouldn't want him to start having a thing for necrophilia, hmmm?"  
The bunny shivered at the thought.  
"I'm going to pretend you didn't say that."  
"Whatever. You might want to cover that hole if you want to blend in, though. Anything else before I leave you?"  
"WHO am I looking for and HOW am I supposed to find them?" Judy demanded.

* * *

 **AN: Zombie Judy, on duty!  
**


	5. Clues

**Part 5 – Clues**

Judy could hear the vixen sigh in disappointment on the other end of the line.  
"Your fox is right, you are no fun sometimes," she voiced.  
"I can be fun when the time is right," Judy retaliated. "And NOW is not the time! Now do I have to repeat the question?"  
"Not at all, Miss Business," Lucy sighed. "You're looking for the soul of a very nasty political figure that tried to force prey into becoming the slaves of predators. He was a very intelligent mammal and his speeches were quite the marvel as well. You might have heard of him in your History classes, he led quite the army across the continent back in the day."  
Judy couldn't help but feel annoyed by the vagueness of the vixen's description.  
"Lucy, as much as I enjoy my job, I don't have time to play detective," she growled. "Who. Am. I. After?"  
"'Scar' Lyonsmane," the vixen replied.  
Judy blinked.  
"Who?"  
"Seriously, Judes? 'Scar' Lyonsmane! Brother to Mufasa Lyonsmane? Led an entire army of hyenas to lay waste wherever they went? THAT 'Scar' Lyonsmane!"  
"And you tried to have him entertain you?" The bunny asked in disbelief.  
"I did say that he was great at telling speeches."  
Judy groaned.  
"So I'm after the mad lion that instigated the last world war?"  
"Yes, and he's not mad, just a genius that's misunderstood," Lucy defended.  
"This coming from The Devil herself," the bunny deadpanned.  
"Why thank you."  
Judy facepawed.  
"Alright, how do I find him?"  
"Still have that collar on you?"  
"Yes?" The bunny answered as she double-checked her pouch.  
"Well it's also a tracking device; the light should blink yellow when you're near the soul. Is it blinking now?"  
"No."  
"Huh, better get on with your search then."  
"That's the thing; I have no leads to work with!" Judy shot at the vixen.  
"Geez, no need to get worked up about it."  
"Would it kill you to give me something to work with?" The bunny demanded, fed up with Lucy's antics.  
"This coming from the undead bunny," She teased. "Alright, I'll give you a clue. More than likely, Scar's soul will have tried to bond with the body of one of his descendants. Happy?"  
"Peachy."  
"Good, I'll be leaving you now," Lucy stated as she hung up.

…

Nick was drumming his fingers on the steering wheel for ages when he finally saw his partner leave the gas station.  
"Took you long enough," he commented as Judy hopped into the patrol car. "I had to put our friend under after he wouldn't shut up about demons and zombies for no reason."  
The bunny looked in the back and saw the badger drooling onto his shoulder, tranquilizer dart still in his neck.  
"Sorry you had to go through that," she apologized as she buckled up. "I needed to be thorough with getting off all that blood, I still think I missed a few spots though…"  
"You know, I could help you with those hard to reach places when we're done," the fox grinned with a sly gaze on his partner.  
As much as Judy appreciated the thought, she couldn't let Nick see her the way she was.  
"Thanks Nick, but I was thinking of taking a bath when I got home anyway," she lied, trying to sway him away.  
"And who's to say I can't join you?"  
Judy was shaking at the thought of Nick seeing her fatal wound, her inanimate organs, her deathly stare.  
"Just… Not tonight. Okay Nick?" She feebly answered.  
Dismayed, the fox stopped his advances. As he saw the little bunny shivering, he couldn't help but wonder what he did wrong.

…

"Hey Nick, would you mind taking care of the processing?" Judy asked as they brought Mr. Baggins into the precinct lobby.  
"Seriously Carrots?" The fox replied with concern. "That's your second favourite part of the job and I already took care of the first."  
"Please Nick?" She begged. "I have some more important things to take care of right now."  
He looked at the cute face she was making; the one face he could never say 'No' to. The one where she made her eyes grow wide and shine with that gentle sparkle. This was the same, like all the others, except her eyes didn't shine. The large purple irises lay flat against the black and white, almost like there was no soul to the expression.  
"Nick?" Judy asked, pulling him out of his thoughts.  
"Huh?"  
"Could you also take care of the report?" The bunny pleaded.  
Nick sighed.  
"Fine," he relented. "You go take care of whatever you need to do. I'll drag Mr. Drools-a-lot to Processing and write up the report."  
She gave him a hug around the waist, just as cold as it felt during the arrest.  
"Thanks Nick. I'll make it up to you, I swear."  
As Judy ran off towards Records, Nick promised himself to keep an eye on that bunny. He had a gut feeling that something was definitely wrong.

* * *

 **AN: Targets acquired.  
**


	6. Undead Plight

**Part 6 – Undead Plight**

"Okay, Judy. Here's all the files under the name Lyonsmane."  
"Thanks Reggie," The bunny replied as the lynx placed a stack taller than her on the reception desk for his department.  
"Are you sure you don't need any help with that?" He asked as Judy effortlessly hefted the pile.  
"Nope," she simply replied. "I'll be sure to bring these back as soon as I'm done."  
"Alright. Just be careful."

As Judy made her way out of records, she was surprised by her new-found strength. The files easily outweighed her, and yet she was hauling them through the precinct as if they were a pile of pillows. Fortunately, most of the officers were off-duty at this time of the night; otherwise, Judy would've most likely gotten a lot of weird looks. She passed by Clawhauser, who didn't give her a second look, as she made her way up the stairs towards her desk. She almost made it to the top of the steps before the cheetah called her out:  
"Oh. Em. Goodness! Judy! Are you working out?"  
"What? Oh! No!" She hastily replied. "These aren't as heavy as the-EEEYYY!"  
Judy had leaned back a little too far in her step and started falling down the staircase, papers and folders flying everywhere.  
"OHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGOD! Judy! Are you okay?!" Clawhauser cried as he rushed over to her aid.  
For the first time that night, Judy was grateful that she was already dead. The fall hadn't hurt at all; it just turned into a big inconvenience.  
"I'm fine Ben," the bunny stated as she sat up and started brushing herself off.  
"Uh… You sure about that?" He asked while pointing at her left arm with a look of concern.  
Judy looked down and, sure enough, found her arm hanging limp off of her body. It swayed a bit when she rocked back and forth to test that it was still attached; her arm had merely fallen out of its socket.  
"I-I'm fine, heh-heh," the bunny nervously chuckled as she grabbed her arm and popped it back into place.  
Clawhauser just looked at her with a look of fear.  
"How-?" He tried to asked.  
"It's a… Party trick that I used to do in high school," she lied with a nervous smile.  
"Oh okay… Judy?"  
"Yeah Ben?"  
"Promise me to not do that in front of me again?"  
"Promise."

…

Judy had decided that it would be better not to challenge the staircase a second time and opted to find an empty room to begin her research. She wandered into Interrogation Room 3 hoping nobody was currently using it.  
"Umm… Are you here to question me?" She heard a voice ask as she entered the room.  
The bunny turned to get a better look at who was speaking, it was a goat dressed in shimmering cloth and decorated with much jewellery.  
"Oh, I'm sorry. I thought this room was free," She apologized to the doe as she made to leave.  
"Wait! Could you keep me company for a bit? The other officer left an hour ago and I've been all alone here," she pleaded.  
While Judy knew better than to interfere with another officer's interrogation tactics, she couldn't help but agree.  
"Five minutes, okay?"  
"Thank you!" The doe cried as she got up from her seat and grasped Judy's paw. "I'm Marie, by the way."  
"Judy. Pleased to meet you, Marie."  
"Oh… You're cold…" Marie stated as she let go.  
"Sorry, must be the lack of heating," the bunny tried deflecting.  
The doe only shook her head.  
"No… It has to be that awful aura around you causing it."  
"What?"  
"Thing is… I'm kind of a psychic," she admitted to the officer.  
"Oh… Uh, okay…" Judy stumbled as she felt a bit nervous.  
"Here. I can help you get rid of that. You'll feel better, trust me," the doe smiled.  
"I'm not sure that's a good idea. I'm feeling fine hones-"  
The psychic placed a hoof on her forehead, freezing Judy in place. Her eyes glowed a bright blue as a shimmer appeared all over Judy's body.  
"There, all gone. You should be feeling better-"  
Judy's body crumpled to the floor and was buried under the pile of files.  
"Uh-oh," the psychic meekly said as she stared at her mess.  
"Yeah. Uh-oh indeed!"  
The doe looked up to find Judy's soul hovering at eye level, her foot stomping empty air.  
"You can fix this right?" The bunny asked.  
The doe simply fainted, adding to the pile.  
"Oh sweet cheese and crackers… LUCY!"  
Judy's phone buzzed at her cry for help.  
"Very funny Lucy…"

…

"…And make sure to stay away from exorcists too," the vixen told her over the phone. "They're even more annoying than psychics."  
"That's the least of my worries right now," Judy replied as she stared at the files strewn all over the place.  
"Oh, I can help with that."  
Of their own accord, the papers that covered the floor made their way to the table and organized themselves in their appropriate folders. The neat stack was made in a fraction of the time Judy would have taken.  
"Thanks Lucy."  
"Eh, you wasted enough time in the lobby; I figured you could do without the extra hour," she nonchalantly answered.  
"Wait, what?"  
"Bye!"  
Slightly pissed off, Judy took her stack of files and left the room, leaving the psychic unconscious on the floor.

* * *

 **AN: The woes of the undead...  
**


	7. Close Encounters

**Part 7 – Close Encounters**

Judy steadily approached the apartment complex with the tracker in paw. The light flashing a dull green more and more often as she approached the building, she was on the right track. According to the files on the Lyonsmane family name, Scar's heritage had a rough reputation with the law over the generations, but his most recent descendant had yet to tarnish his records. The ZPD still kept the file open out of habit, though.  
Scar's lineage was quite small, his current descendants only numbering at a pawful, and only a couple of them were currently staying in Zootopia. Judy had checked up on the first an hour earlier with nothing happening on the tracker, but her hopes rose as she could feel her deal with Lucy coming close to ending.  
Just as the bunny was about to climb the steps, the door to the complex opened and out walked a dark-maned lion. Dressed in a simple button up shirt and slacks, the lion walked passed Judy without a speck of interest for her. The light of the tracker came to a steady halt before flashing again as he passed and walked down the street; it was him, Scar's soul had attached itself to Kovu Lyonsmane, his great-grandson.

…

Kovu was walking in the dead of the night on what seemed like a whim to him. He couldn't explain it, but something in the back of his mind was telling him that he needed to get out and go… Somewhere. For the last fifteen minutes he was walking up and down the streets of his neighbourhood with no particular destination, only the slight nudge in the back of his thoughts was pushing him forward.  
As the lion stood under a crosswalk light, he couldn't help but scratch his head as he wondered where he was headed.  
"Are you okay, sir?"  
Kovu looked down to find a bunny looking up at him, dressed in police attire.  
"I'm fine… Just a little lost, I think," he admitted, unsure.  
"Where are you going?"  
"Umm… I think I'm looking for…"  
 _Knowledge…_  
"Knowledge?" Kovu asked to himself.  
"Knowledge?" The bunny repeated, cocking an eyebrow.  
The lion concentrated on the voice that gave the hint and fell into darkness.

As the lion opened his eyes, Judy noticed that they were glowing an eerie green. They stared down at the bunny with an utmost disdain for her.  
"I'm looking for the library," the lion sneered.  
"Oh, uh, I think I saw one a few blocks back that way," Judy shared, unconsciously taking a step back at the menacing presence. "But I don't think their open at this hour."  
"They'll open for me," he growled as he walked past her.  
The bunny steeled herself and put herself in Kovu's path.  
"Sir, are you implying that you're going to break into a library?"  
"And what if I am?" The lion glared with his glowing eyes.  
"Then I'm going to have to put you under arrest."  
Kovu laughed.  
"That's funny, for a moment you had me fooled in believing you were a police officer."  
"I am a police officer."  
The glow in his eyes shone brighter as his glare intensified.  
"You above all Prey shouldn't be a police officer. You're weak. A waste of resources."  
"I'll have you know that I'm the best cop on the force," Judy defended.  
The glow flared bright in Kovu's eyes and the lion picked up Judy in one swoop of his paw, pinning her to the nearby lamppost by the neck.  
"All the more reason to kill you and then remold this disgusting excuse for a city into a proper display of power," he snarled as the bunny clung onto his paw.

"Hey buddy! Let her go!"  
Judy looked over to find Nick glaring daggers at the lion. Kovu only looked at the fox in annoyance.  
"Stay out of this, Fox. This doesn't concern you."  
"I would say that you holding my girlfriend by the throat one-hundred percent concerns me," Nick shot back.  
"Nick… I've got… This," Judy managed to say.  
The lion steeled his gaze on Nick.  
"Are you saying that this lowly Prey is your Mate?"  
"Yes, very much so. Now let her go."  
Kovu frowned.  
"And this is what society has come to… I'm going to have to teach you a very painful lesson to put you back in line."  
"Oh no you DON'T!" Judy exclaimed as she gave her best kick to the lion's jaw.  
A loud crack was heard as Kovu's head spun around from the force of the blow. But the lion simply twisted his head back into place, and focused his entire attention on Judy. The flare in his eyes sprouted into green flames as his anger rose.  
"You're right. I was going to take care of you first."  
His grip tightened around the bunny's throat, and with a sharp snap, her body went limp.  
"NOOOOO!" Nick cried as he fell to his knees.  
Kovu tossed the bunny to the side and made his way to the sobbing fox.  
"Utterly pathetic," the lion commented as he picked him up by the neck. "Another waste."  
"Hey! Nobody calls my boyfriend a waste!"

The lion dropped Nick as he whirled around in disbelief. Standing there, as if nothing had happened, was Judy. She pounced on Kovu while he was still stunned and placed the tracker on his neck, activating the collar.  
"You should be dead!" He stated as the metal encircled his neck.  
"Well here's a newsflash! I've been dead the whole time!" Judy admitted as she punched the now yellow light on the collar.  
A shockwave blew the bunny back as red lightning sparked off the lion. The tendrils of energy webbed across the ground into an intricately decorated circle before exploding into a pillar of dark light.  
As the event subsided, the lion was now accompanied by a stunning vixen.  
"Aaah, it's so nice to see Zootopia again!" Lucy declared.

* * *

 **AN: Lucy loves her eccentric entrances... Say THAT ten times fast.**


	8. Closing the Deal

**Finale – Closing the Deal**

"You know, to be honest, I thought that it would take you at least a day to find Scar's soul," Lucy stated as she petted the unconscious lion.  
"Sorry to disappoint you, but I wasn't too keen on spending more time than needed as a walking corpse," Judy replied as she picked herself up from the blast. "Now that I got you your soul, are you gonna keep your end of the deal?"  
"Hey! I take my contracts very seriously!" The vixen spat. "I may be The Devil, but I'm not dishonest. Manipulative, yes. But I honour my deals."  
"Alright, I'm sorry," the bunny apologized. "It's just been a very weird night."  
"Speaking of weird, I think your fox might need a little catching up."  
Lucy stepped aside to reveal Nick staring at the two girls with confusion plastered all over his face. Judy ran over to him and gave him the biggest hug she could, Nick only stared at her in disbelief.  
"But… How? I saw you…"  
"I'm so sorry Nick," she apologized into his chest. "I didn't want you to worry about me, so I lied to you. I know it might be hard to believe, but I actually did die back in that alley."  
"But you came back…"  
"Only because Lucy needed help," the bunny answered as she pulled away. "She needed me to find a soul that got away, and in exchange she offered to bring me back. The thing is... I'm still not entirely back."  
"But that's going to change now," Lucy declared as she sauntered over to the bunny. "You've held your end of the bargain, and as I've said, I always honour my contracts."  
The vixen held Judy's face in between her paws and started to close the gap between their lips.

"WOAH! HOLD IT!" Judy shouted as she wrestled out of the vixen's reach. "What are you doing?!"  
"Isn't it obvious? They call it 'The Kiss of Life' for a reason, you know," Lucy replied matter-of-factly.  
"You are the worst!" The bunny shouted, embarrassed beyond belief.  
"And you are no fun," the vixen said in disappointment.  
"Agreed," Nick commented.  
Judy looked at him in shock.  
"You're okay with this!?"  
"Carrots, as long as it's not another guy, I'm always okay with it," he answered with his trademark grin.  
"I'm still not kissing her."  
"Fine, no kiss," Lucy relented. "But I will do this."  
And with a devilish smile, the vixen pressed a single finger on Judy's nose, while making a 'Boop' noise of her own. Judy's ears flared red at the sheer embarrassment of the act, her heart beating as if it was making up for lost time.  
"You're welcome."

"Now all that's left to do is bring ole Scar back home."  
Lucy clutched the collar around Kovu's neck and gave a swift yank. The metal phased through the lion along with a new occupant; dressed in military attire was the figure of a ghostly lion, whose features where strikingly similar to Kovu's. The green ghost glared at his captor.  
"Hello there, Scar," the vixen greeted. "I hope you enjoyed your little walk, because you're coming back with me."  
"In all honesty, I was getting bored of this place anyway," the ghost replied.  
"Oh please! You enjoyed killing me!" Judy shot at him.  
"Yes, I did. And I also would've enjoyed watching your… Mate… Suffer as well."  
Judy shivered at the thought, prompting Nick to hold her close.  
"Is Lyonsmane going to be okay though?" Judy asked the vixen. "I think I might've broken his neck."  
"Oh no, you did. But Scar here actually healed that up while he was possessing the poor guy," Lucy assured her.  
"I'm not the monster that you think I am," Scar defended. "I'm not going to have my lineage disappear because of my mistakes."  
"Kind of late for that, if you ask me," Nick retorted.  
"And no one did," the ghost shot back. "Miss, if we're to leave, I think this might be an appropriate time."  
"Such a gentleman," Lucy commented. "I'm so glad that I chose you to read for me."  
"Reading? That sounds like a nice change of pace. What is it that I'll be reading for you?"  
"My favourite book right now, 'Fifty Shades of Prey'."  
"You have my interest. Shall we?" The ghost asked as he offered a translucent arm.  
As the vixen looped her arm in his, flames engulfed the two and they disappeared in a bright flare of orange.  
"That guy has no idea what he's in for," Nick declared causing Judy to giggle at the thought. "So what about us?"  
"I was thinking of taking a bath actually," the bunny replied.  
"Would you be against me joining you this time?"  
Judy smiled.  
"Not at all."

* * *

 **AN: Lucy is my favourite. XD  
Thank you very much for enjoying. See you in the next story.  
**


End file.
